Constance - English Bull Terrier cross

Constance arrived at www.homes4dogs.co.uk in a very frightened state.

She shook and cowered for the first few days but is now beginning to come out of her shell thanks to her kennel mate and the efforts of staff and volunteers.

She is a little wary of people still - particularly men - but we hope that she will learn, in time, that life is for living and there's nothing to be scared about.

Lovely, really lovely.

Is her hearing ok?

Seems fine.
She's also developing her bark - from shaking and cowering, to standing a little firmer with a tiny "I'm trying to be brave" little bark.

Awww.

I wish...........

Ahhhh bless her. I hope she gains her confidence again she is a beautiful dog.

She's coming along nicely - took three treats from me the other day and seems to be a lot less scared of men.

Small steps, big leaps

She's not convincing me with her "look at me, I'm brave" baby growl though.
If I point at her, she stops.

Awww, poor thing. I'd love to have her - don't think Dempsey would approve, though.

Here's a video of Constance out for a walk with her kennel mate Rocky.

She's finding her confidence slowly - it has taken a while to get her to this point - where she will actually walk freely.

I think she looks very lovely in her little winter top.

https://youtu.be/m3cD_2Ci_Ak

I'm in love!

Constance will now stay put for a fuss and to be lightly groomed.
Her confidence is improving and she can manage the occasional relaxed expression, too.

she is lovely

Beautiful, beautiful Constance. You're doing such a great job Keith.

Eeebz?

Lynda wrote:Eeebz?

Short for EBT.

Okaaaay - EBT is shorter than Eeebz

Whatever her acronym, she's a lovely dog and she will surely find her forever home soon. Meanwhile, she couldn't wish for better than to be with you Keith whilst waiting.

She is so beautiful bless her.

Looks crackin' in her coat

she is gorgeous!

Thanks everyone for the great comments.

Constance is now on foster at home with me and is currently making EBT gruffly noises into her thick, warm doggy bed.

She's only been here a few hours but is showing she's toilet trained, knows "sit", loves cheese, and can't work out what the noise is when the loo flushes.

She's very very quiet, and it will take a bit of time to build a trust bond with me - she's been wary of men up to this point.

Time to show her that people, and doggy life, can be nice.

Awww, poor girl; I'm sure she'll settle down soon.

Nawww she's gorgeous!

Enjoy Constance, she's lovely and so may not be with you long! In the meantime, I am sure you will work your usual magic with her.

Cheers gang.
Constance is settling in well.

Oh she looks so much happier!

Ooh, we're at the "if I snuggle up close, what will happen?" stage.

Eating well, and looks to be in fine condition.

Still totally silent, aside from a little contented gruffly sound every time she settles into her bed.

Tail now at half mast, instead of between her legs.

I do believe she is relaxing.

Good!

The gruffly sound is what was described to me as the Bully Love Grunt. It's a Bull Terrier thing!

I'm presuming it's a good thing.

It's a very good thing Keith! Lovely contented grunts.

And her tail is not tucked down any more - all good.

Bless her ><

She's just been in my home gym room, tail wagging at the grunts I'm making, sat there watching foster dad slowly go purple.

I must have inadvertently spoken EBT language.

She'll be having chicken and rice in about half an hour.

Keith wrote:I'm presuming it's a good thing.

Yes, it's a contented, trusting sound. You must be doing something right!

Lol at gruffly sound, Lola does it when she goes to bed, does Constance do the huffly, gruffly sound?

I'll listen out for it.

We've just come back from a late night walkies and sleepy Constance has taken herself off to her crate.

Guess I don't need to do any crate training with her then.

Constance this morning.
A much happier girl.

Oh she is lovely, how can anyone resist her?

She's on the sofa with me, dishing out serious hand licks.





Some video stills:

Great progress Keith. Well done mate. Hopefully they find the forever home they deserve very soon

I hope she does Mike.
If she continues on as she has been, she'll be about perfect.

Fuss time.

Awww, she's really starting to come out of her shell!

She's a real beauty! Still very thin, isn't she? But that'll change!

Caryll wrote:She's a real beauty! Still very thin, isn't she? But that'll change!

She eats like a horse but I'm transitioning her onto a different food, so can't fill her up just yet.

She needs around a kilo on her in my opinion, maybe a bit more but we'll get there over the next few weeks.

Lovely to see her starting to relax!

She sleeps on my bed at night now - doesn't even snore.
Bit disappointing after fostering a load of vocal staffies recently.

Going to take her down to the park in a bit to see if we can find Ralph the setter, who Sausage was friends with.